Jack Coburn was a pivotal figure in regional affairs at the onset of the Great Depression, and arguably of greater significance in the Park’s creation than anyone on the North Carolina side of the Smokies.more

Sam Hunnicutt introduces his book by stating, “I claim to be a perfect hunter and fisherman for game fish; I know the best kinds of hunting outfit to use, I know the best kind of gun to use for killing game and also the best dogs to use for hunting.”more

Jan Simek is an intrepid cave explorer. He’s probed the depths of more than 800 caves in the rich grotto country of East Tennessee and its border states. The master spelunker isn’t on a quest for adventure, however.more

Working in her studio nestled on a hillside overlooking Wears Valley, a border community of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, artist Kathryn Rutherford’s face takes on a radiance.more

Whether he’s scavenging the countryside in search of honeysuckle and dandelion, scouring mom-and-pop farms for fennel and carrots, or tracking down local honey and sorghum cane juice, Todd Boera is on the cutting edge of the farm-to-mug movement.more

Microbreweries of the mountains are peddling more than pints these days. The Smokies’ national acclaim as a craft-beer destination has led the burgeoning microbrewery scene on a quest for expansion, one that’s intersecting with the region’s history.more

In 2009, seven years after the death of Ola Belle Reed, Maryland state folklorist Clifford Murphy set out to unearth how her mountain music was playing out in the small towns where her music had flourished.more

Harmonious voices—often described as spirited, soulful, poignant, even haunting—ring out from Middle Creek United Methodist Church in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. These shape-note singers practice an art older than the church where they’ve assembled.more

I have joked that if my journalism got someone in the region angry enough to spit, a DNA swab could prove beyond any doubt that we were cousins. That's the way it is when you count eight generations tying you to these mountains.more